When I am out for SXSW, I don’t have as many opportunities for interviews, red carpets and such as the bigger papers or websites, but I occasionally, I am afforded some great interviews or round tables and of course, I take in a panel or two. Fortunately, I sat in on a round table (with some very nice other film critics) to speak to Jonah Hill (Cyrus) and John C. Riley (John) talk about their new film ‘Cyrus,’ an interesting and entertaining film about a woman and the two men in her life – her new boyfriend and her extremely co-dependent son. Director brothers Jay and Mark Duplass using an extremely personal filming style offer a fun loving look at weirdly dysfunctional relationships and with the cast they chose, I loved the overall experience.
Riley and Hill are two very funny guys and when I asked Riley about playing a bit of a straight man to Hill, he corrected me saying, “No, Marisa [Tomei](who plays Cyrus’ mother Molly) is the straight man here” and perhaps he is right, but for Riley, I saw him as far more low key comedy in this than his typical comedic characters. And there are some great moments when the pair spars verbal, mentally and a tad physically as they compete for Molly’s love and attention. Cyrus, you see, is a mama’s boy to the nth degree and to say he resents and attempts to sabotage the fledgling relationship between Molly and John is an understatement. Cyrus even goes as far as stealing John’s shoes and stares him down during a hilarious moment when he shares his music with John and even faking anxiety attacks and more to push John out of the picture. I won’t take time to offer too much of a synopsis here, but a photo of Molly breastfeeding nearly school aged Cyrus speaks volumes about the mother son relationship.
Admittedly when I first began watching the film, the Duplass camera style threw me, but as it progressed, I enjoyed the personal feel and appreciated when I spoke to the pair their commitment to their style of direction and writing. I found their sibling relationship refreshing and interesting and will post more on that as time permits. ‘Cyrus’ is not a typical romance comedy and that too is refreshing. The characters are oddly real and so endearing that I love the whole package. It is a small story with a big-hearted feel and with so much mediocre stuff out there, I, for one, am thrilled. This is perhaps Hill's best work today and his ability to draw laughs and engage his audience into his nuttiness with simple facial expressions is remarkable! I adore Riley and in this there is no exception. I cheered him on in this and wanted to reach out and help John get past the bizarre antics of Cyrus.
‘Cyrus’ may or may not get the audience it deserves, but I hope that all of my readers give it a look when it hit theatres. I am placing an A- in my grade book. My plan is to write up additional interview details and my experience for this and other red carpet and round table experiences and a longer review when the film opens.
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